The Martlet

One UVic master’s student has discovered a positive link between the professional and personal lives of counsellors, despite the negative focus of her research materials.

When investigating the topic for her thesis, Barbara Kennedy, a master’s student of counselling psychology, noticed a gap in the literature on the personal lives of counsellors.

“Being a counsellor-in-training myself, I was curious. When I tried to find literature on the subject, there was none, or it was really outdated,” said Kennedy, who will graduate next month. “For me, that was just an open door.”

Although Kennedy’s thesis, How Does Becoming and Being a Professional Counsellor Affect One’s Personal Life: A Qualitative Exploration, discusses mostly positive aspects of counsellors’ personal lives, much of her research materials focused on issues such as isolation, over-analysing, and stressed relationships.

“When the idea of therapy came out, it was seen as taboo; there was a stigma attached to it,” said Kennedy. “There seems to be a focus now on strength, resilience and an encouragement to work through things.”

After interviewing six counsellors, Kennedy divided the results into 15 primary research themes and two secondary themes.

Primary themes include better interpersonal relationships and better relationship with self and increased acceptance of others.

The two secondary themes include decreased personal resources and increased spiritual connection.

All of the primary themes turned out to be positive, with the strongest being themes like having a better relationship with the self, improved communication and greater self-awareness.

Three out of the six counsellors did report they sometimes spend their personal time and energy thinking about or engaging in work-related things, resulting in a decrease in energy available to spend in their personal lives. Kennedy admitted that two factors could have skewed the results. The first is that all the counsellors involved the study are from Victoria, which has a very health-conscious attitude compared to some other Canadian cities.

The second is it’s possible the counsellors who were feeling burnt out didn’t want to take part.

“I think the main message is that counsellors’ personal and professional lives are way more interwoven than we think they are,” said Kennedy. “Counsellors are practising what they are preaching and I think that’s why their personal lives are doing so well.”

In the counselling profession, it’s in the code of ethics that counsellors need to practice self-care.

“Whatever it is that recharges you, whatever it is that grounds you,” said Kennedy. “Whether it’s eating healthier, exercise or getting lots of sleep, you have to make it a priority. If you don’t, you’re not going to last long without burning out.”

Kennedy is currently writing a journal article based on the thesis that she will submit to the Canadian Journal of Counselling.

She is considering furthering her education with a PhD in counselling and researching how different areas of the profession, like working with children, affects one’s personal life.